It’s 80 Degrees In My House Why Is My AC (air conditioning) Not Cooling?

Very common call and complaint you set your thermostat below 80 degrees but you have noticed that your air conditioner is struggling to reach the set point or get to 80 degrees. In fact, anything below 80 is just not happening.

You’re frustrated and hot (literally), is it you or is it the ac?

 But here’s the tricky part: there’s always the possibility that nothing’s actually “wrong” with your AC— maybe you’re just pushing the limitations of your system.

So how do you know which is your situation? Well, you can start by checking the outdoor temperature when you notice your AC struggling. What is the outdoor temperature? Is the actual temperature in your home 20 degrees below the outside temperature? If so, there probably is nothing wrong with the HVAC system and it’s cooling all it can in this Greenville, SC heat. Your air conditioner supports a maximum temperature drop of about 20 degrees between supply and return air. However, if it’s higher than 20 degrees, you may want to check the suggestions below.

So, what is the issue? There are a few things that can prevent an air conditioner from cooling your home properly:

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Check your filters, a dirty filter will restrict proper cooling

Check your filters every other month, change it when it looks like the filter on the right.  

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    A blocked outdoor condenser, if the outdoor unit has pet fur, bushes wrapped around the coil this can cause your system to not cool properly.

Go outside and check the outdoor condenser, if it looks like the picture to the left or has shrubs and leaves surrounding the outdoor unit for the love of your wallet, go get the hose and on a gentle spray setting rinse it down to get the dirt and fur off of it. Cut the brushes, shrubs or flowers from growing around it. All of this will cause your system to struggle to breathe which can cause problems.

 A refrigerant (Freon) leak, not having the manufacturers recommended amount of refrigerant will cause your system to blow warm air.

Refrigerant (Freon) is a chemical that cools the air inside your home. So, if there is a leak your system will continue to lose the refrigerant (Freon) which will limit how much if at all it will or can cool. If you see frost or ice (like in the picture) on the indoor or outdoor coils, this is when you need to call a professional to locate the leak and repair the leak, then recharge the system.

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Ductwork, you may have a collapsed ductwork and your crawlspace or attic maybe nice and cold however, your house not so much.

Best way to explain your ductwork is it’s like the veins in your body that move the blood, however, ductwork moves your air. When you have a collapsed/fallen duct then the air is being blown into your attic or crawlspace neither of the places you want to stay cool and this then restricts the cooling of your actually living space. Call a professional HVAC company to come and assess the damage and repair the ductwork so that it is air tight.

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Older/undersized air conditioner units, after time just like people your equipment will slow down and not perform as it did when it was first installed or if your air conditioner is too small for your home it will struggle to cool.

Energy Star recommends if your air conditioner is older than 10 years, you should think about replacing it. It will not only save you up to 20% on cooling costs but it will also ensure the system reaches cooling set points on your thermostat.

Call your local HVAC company for a quote, just remember the cheapest is not going to be the best you will get what you pay for, and the most expensive is not always the best you may be paying for a name or bells and whistles you really don’t need. I tell my customers the middle quote is usually the closest to the best deal for savings, reputable equipment and no extra bells / whistles that you truly may not need or want.